Secretary Bird, Laikipia

[Loi Nguyen]

This image was taken in the early morning hour in Laikipia, Kenya. The light was sweet, but the bird was facing the other way. I waited until she turned her head around to take this shot.

1DX
500f4 II
1/1250
f5.6
ISO-800
BLUBB Bean bag from safari vehicle
Manual exposure

Appreciate your comments and suggestions.

Loi

[Ken Hadfield]

Great shot with super sharp subject and excellent BG

[Jeannean Ryman]

Very nice Loi. Your patience paid off. Interesting bird I've never seen before. Looks like you are having a good trip!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Loi, great sighting of a lovely subject, and well done for waiting for the moment of the look back. The early morning light looks good, the secretary bird is sharp, and love the surrounding african bush. I felt there was a magenta/red cast to the secretary bird and so here is my version with a slight change to your comp, with some off the left and top.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Stuart, thank you for your comments and adjustment for the magenta cast. I like your version very much. I'm struggling with the color cast issue and does not seem to have a handle on it. In terms of adjustment, did you just use the color adjustment tab on PS and reduce the magenta? Thank you. Loi

[Stu Bowie]

In terms of adjustment, did you just use the color adjustment tab on PS and reduce the magenta?

Hi Loi, I picked up on the wings that there was a magenta/red cast - more of a red cast. I selected the bird and in saturation, I simply reduced the reds. You could use colour balance too, but its all down to a personal thing.

[Mike Delgado]

Very nice.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of tack sharp bird. Love the look back pose,colors,lights and composition.
Re post by Stuart Sir looks superb.

Regards,
Satish.

[Loi Nguyen]

Thank you all for your comments, especially Stuart for the RP. Much appreciated. Loi

[Girish Prahalad]

excellent image Loi. lovely look back pose & great details. like the comp in Stuart's repost.

[shane shacaluga]

Wonderful backward looking pose from this bird. The sky showing in the background didn't work for me and that was addressed in the RP

Thanks for sharing.

Is there any way of being able to tell if there is a colour cast on an image as I cannot see the magenta cast in the first image to be honest